John Peacock AM

Chief Executive Officer

John is one of Australia’s most experienced advisors to associations and charities and is a thought leader for the associations sector. He is a regular national and international presenter, on matters essential to the governance and operations of associations, charities and other mutual bodies.

Since 2000, John has trained and consulted to hundreds of associations and charities, large and small, on strategic planning, governance, Board effectiveness, operations, restructuring, financial issues and external reviews.

His particular areas of specialisation are mergers of associations and developing association plans that can be translated into actions, budgets and job descriptions.

John’s work with associations was recognised in the 2021 Australia Day Honours List with his appointment as a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia (General Division) for significant service to the associations and not-for-profit sectors through a range of initiatives.

Fatima Sunderji

General Manager

In her role as General Manager, Fatima is responsible for overseeing a broad spectrum of activities for Associations Forum including partnerships and sponsorships, events, marketing, human resources, benchmarking projects, database and website development, member services and new projects.

Fatima was Associations Forum's first Manager when it was established in 2004 and oversaw membership, events and communications. She has also worked for Actuaries Institute and Primary English Teaching Association Australia and in the charity sector in Canada where she lived from 2011 to 2017.

Fatima holds a Bachelor of Social Science (majoring in Anthropology) from Macquarie University and a Graduate Certificate in Marketing.

Lynn Liang

Finance & Administration Manager

As Finance & Administration Manager, Lynn is responsible for all business finances and accounting for Associations Forum. Her role includes the preparation of budgets, forecasts and financial statements.

Lynn holds a Master of Professional Accounting from the University of New South Wales and is a Member of CPA Australia. She has previously worked as a Senior FP&A Finance Analyst at Whirlpool Corporation and as an Accounts Assistant at Abound Land Student Service and Migration Centre.

Michael Bell

Senior Associations Advisor

Michael is a Chartered Accountant, Fellow of the Governance Institute and Graduate of the Institute of Company Directors. He has worked in chartered accounting practices and the banking and finance industry holding General Manager roles in Finance, Strategy and Operations. More recently he has consulted in governance, financial control and risk management to a range of organisations.

He has been an active Committee Member in several Not for Profits and joined the board of Coeliac NSW&ACT before becoming President of Coeliac Australia in 2016. During his time as President he successfully transformed the organisation from a federated to a national company limited by guarantee. Michael brings a broad governance, finance, project management and risk perspective to his roles ensuring this works in a positive way to achieving strategic goals.

Andrew Gosbell PhD, GAICD, BAppSc

Associations Advisor

Andrew is based in Melbourne and provides a range of advisory services for Associations Forum based on his broad experience in governance, change management, leadership development, government relations and policy development, risk management, strategic planning, negotiation and partnership development.

Andrew has over 15 years senior executive experience working in medical colleges and associations, including successful tenures as CEO of General Practice Registrars Australia and Deputy CEO at the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine. He has a track record of working collaboratively with volunteers, association members and office bearers, and professional staff to successfully deliver a range of strategic initiatives at both national and state levels. He has well-developed networks in the health and associations sectors. Andrew also has governance experience as a non-executive director and currently holds a number of Board and Committee positions in the NFP and tertiary-education sectors.

Claire Hewat Dip Man, Dip Nut&Diet, BSc (Hons1)

Associations Advisor

Claire has over 20 years’ experience in senior executive positions including two successful roles as a CEO at Dietitians Australia and Allied Health Professions Australia. Claire has also had substantial non-executive governance experience on four national and one international board. She has extensive experience in professional self-regulation and is currently chair of the Ethics Review Committee for an Australian allied health profession.
Claire has used her experience to provide support and mentoring to other NFP CEOs and boards in areas of governance, strategic planning, complaints and disciplinary processes, change management and more.

Finola Carey

Associations Advisor

Finola Carey was the Chief Executive Officer of ODMA for 27 years, until taking semi-retirement at the end of April 2023. Finola has a particular interest and expertise in Governance issues including Strategic & Business Planning, Policy formulation and advocacy and Company Secretary responsibilities. Finola has a proven track record in Business development and Revenue diversification and Event Management of exhibitions and conferences. She was one of the architects of the joint venture agreement between ODMA and Optometry Victoria/South Australia out of which O=MEGA (the premier optical event in the Southern hemisphere) was born and can be credited with a major role in securing the World Congress of Optometry for Melbourne in 2023.

Finola graduated in Business & Finance from the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland.  She studied law in Australia and is now an admitted solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. 

Tony Gleeson MBA, GAICD

Associations Advisor

Tony Gleeson MBA GAICD is Associations Advisor at Associations Forum. He has over 30 years of experience in the fields of association management and governance, leadership, project and change management, organisational integration and talent development.

Tony has been Chief Executive of Australian Institute of Refrigeration Air-conditioning and Heating (AIRAH) and the Australian Institute of Management (AIM), and was an Executive General Manager with CPA Australia. Prior to his roles with membership associations, he held senior consulting roles in strategy, process re-engineering and change management with PwC, Deloitte and Terra Firma Consulting.

Tony is an innovative and energetic leader, skilled communicator / team builder, and adept negotiator. He has significant experience in providing support and guidance to CEOs and boards in areas of governance, strategic planning, change management and more.

Tim Wills MA, GAICD

Associations Advisor

Tim has held senior roles in health care management in NSW Health for 20 years, including in Health Services Planning, Senior Executive Service and as Hospital General Manager. He worked in e-Swatini, Southern Africa as Hospital GM of the country’s largest hospital for 3 years.
He was an integral driver in a large project to create from scratch a brand new Medical School at Western Sydney University in the mid 2000’s, becoming the General Manager. He also occupied the same role at UNSW Medicine moving into the CEO role for 8 years of the Australasian College of a Dermatologists, a NFP Company Ltd by Guarantee with a national specialist medical education and training remit as well as being a member-based peak industry body.
During that time he trained at the AICD and is a GAICD. He enjoys challenges of corporate governance, strategic thinking, and tactical business strategies. He has extensive managerial experience with interests in risk management, HR, financial management, policy and planning.

Julius Feldmann

Marketing and Communications Officer

As the Marketing and Communications Officer, Julius produces e-newsletters, bi-annual ASSOCIATIONS magazine and formal communication at Associations Forum, while also controlling the social media and website management of the team. He has gained previous experience aiding local businesses and writing various blog-content articles.

Recently, Julius has completed his studies at The Australian National University (ANU), graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce (majoring in Economics) and a Bachelor of Science (majoring in Human Biology, minoring in Biodiversity and Conservation Management).

Abhinav Dagg

Operations Coordinator

As Operations Coordinator, Abhinav is involved in overseeing a broad spectrum of activities for Associations Forum including membership, member services and database development.

Abhinav holds a Bachelors of Commerce degree majoring in International Business from Macquarie University. 

Ninon Ocker

Membership Officer

Ninon's role as a Membership Officer involves building and maintaining relationships with both new and existing members, as well as assisting with Associations Forum’s member recruitment strategy.

Ninon holds a Bachelor in Tourism from Estácio de Sá University, Brazil, a Certificate IV in Business Management from Kent Institute of Business and Technology, Australia and a Certificate IV in Hospitality from The Hotel School UNSW, Australia. Ninon has extensive knowledge in project management, business administration, event management, marketing and coaching acquired in a number of roles both in Brazil and Australia.

Dianna Lew

Membership Officer

Dianna's role as a Membership Officer involves building and maintaining relationships with both new and existing members, as well as assisting with Associations Forum’s member recruitment strategy.

Dianna holds a double Bachelor Degree in Psychology and Economics from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in the United States. Prior to joining Associations Forum, Dianna has had extensive experience working as a US tax accountant and an operations specialist in different financial institutions across Hong Kong.

Ying Ying

Membership Officer

Ying's role as a Membership Officer involves building and maintaining relationships with both new and existing members, as well as assisting with Associations Forum’s member recruitment strategy.

Ying holds a Bachelor of Commerce-Accounting Degree from Macquarie University. Prior to joining Associations Forum, Ying has 5 years of experience as an Internal Auditor in financial and retail industries in Australia.

Astrid Jelinek

Membership Officer

Astrid's role as a Membership Officer involves building and maintaining relationships with both new and existing members, as well as assisting with Associations Forum’s member recruitment strategy.

Astrid is currently studying a Bachelor of Laws at Southern Cross University in her fourth year, and has previous administrative experience across several organisations.

Shielah May Bongato

Membership Officer

Shielah's role as a Membership Officer involves building and maintaining relationships with both new and existing members, as well as assisting with Associations Forum’s member recruitment strategy.

Shielah holds a license as a Certified Public Accountant and is also a graduate Master in Public Administration from Southwestern University in Philippines. She was an Accounting Instructor for 3 years and later on became a Finance Head at a young age.

Jomol Robin

Events Manager

As Events Manager, Jomol creates event programs to inspire association professionals and give them practical tools to improve their association, industry and members.

Jomol holds a Masters in Communication with specialisation in Industrial and Organisational Communications and a Bachelor of Commerce with speciality in Computers, both from Bangalore University. Jomol has over 10 years of experience. She has worked as Public Relations Manager for Tech companies and Journalism & Communications Lecturer in the past.

Celine Zeng

Event Sponsorship Officer

Celine’s role as Sponsorship Officer involves managing relationships and agreements with corporate partners and supporters of Associations Forum, coordinating event sponsorship, sourcing advertising, and managing exhibition and event logistics at the Associations Forum National Conference.

Celine holds a Master of Business from the University of Queensland, specialising in marketing and Information Systems and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of International Business and Economics in China. She has a background in customer service, working with AirChina for over 6 years.

Angela Chhour

Administration & Finance Officer

As Associations Forum’s Administrative and Finance Officer, Angela assists with finances and database management and is responsible for office administration and processing all event registrations.

Angela holds a Bachelors of Commerce majoring in Accounting from the Australian Catholic University.